Maynooth and Environs Local Area Plan 2025-31

A further meeting of the Clane-Maynooth Municipal District took place on 17th February regarding the Maynooth LAP. Maynooth Cycling Campaign welcomes the recommendations from the Office of the Planning Regulator that the deleted permeability  links must be consistent with  the government and local authority policy framework, and strongly disagree with the non-acceptance of the recommendation by local councillors.

In our blog, we posed the question Is Railpark the worst place to live in Maynooth? And is walking and cycling access at fault? The article can be found at the following link:

Is Railpark the worst place to live in Maynooth? And is walking and cycling access at fault?

Launch of Dublin Active Travel Portal

The IrishCycle.com website reports that Dublin City Council has launched an Active Travel portal to report progress on active travel schemes and their resulting impact on levels of walking and cycling. The European Cycling Federation stresses that monitoring and reporting progress (or lack of it) is an essential element of managing change in modes of travel. 

We know that in recent years Kildare County Council has spent in excess of €60,000 on data loggers to record pedestrians and cyclists movements but has failed to publish any results. Maynooth Cycling Campaign previously attempted to raise this at meetings of the Transportation Strategic Policy Committee but was repeatedly blocked by the then Chair, Cllr. Joe Neville. Hopefully they will reconsider their stance and follow Dublin’s lead.

MOTHERLOAD

MOTHERLOAD is a prize winning American made film about cargo bikes and their impact on communities. It also deals with a number of associated themes including sustainability, green transportation, feminism and women’s empowerment, connecting to nature, and childhood and parenting.

Last year, Maynooth Cycling Campaign purchased the right to screen the film but the screening didn’t proceed for a variety of reasons. We are delighted to announce that we will be showing it later this year  – in May. To get a taste of the film, you can view the official  trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkklZNE9S-g . 

Purchase of American Cars

The US president, Donald Trump, and his  appointee, Elon Musk, have been making headlines on a wide range of issues. One of the areas which the president has highlighted is the imbalance in manufacturing trade between Europe and the US and specifically in the areas of cars. In Europe, cars are smaller in size and, with fuel prices much more expensive, offer greater fuel efficiency than American models. Bigger cars are also a threat to the public. According to the OECD, in the US the fatality rate per 100,000 population is four times higher than  the Irish rate. While no single factor is responsible for the difference in fatality rates, size is at least partially responsible. 

Even some new American electric cars cannot compete on the European markets. Egon Musk’sTesla’s Cyber-Truck model, which has been banned in the UK, is not in accordance with European safety standards in relation to weight, lighting, finish or crumple zones. As proponents of active travel, we support increased walking and cycling, and less cars. In 2022, the US exported 16% of their cars to Europe but if Trump/Musk want to increase this percentage, they must  meet European safety standards. Irish roads are already too dangerous for active travel users – we do not need to increase this danger.

Upgrade Works on Mill Street, Maynooth

Maynooth Cycling Campaign welcomes the commencement of upgrade works to provide improved facilities for walking and cycling on Mill Street. Mill Street is a key retail destination with Manor Mills Shopping Centre as well as other retail premises. It is also a key link between Moyglare Road and Leinster Street for children attending schools to the north of the town.  

More than 10 years ago, pupils from St. Mary’s Boys School wrote to Kildare County Council to complain about aggression from motorists on Mill Street. While there has been some improvement over the years with the addition of bollards during Covid,  it has taken this long to provide a comprehensive solution. 

Maynooth Cycling Campaign is a non-party independent local lobby group advocating for  better cycling infrastructure in Kildare. ​​